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MY VENTS: |
Dr. Visconti walks into MP in a Santa suit and greets Peter. Peter doesn't really think he's Santa material but Visconti reminds him that it's for a good cause. Michael shows up at the scene and asks to switch hats with Peter because his is too small. Visconti starts to give the assignments and Ryan and Kyle show up and they all walk out HO! HO! HO-ing away.
Amanda, Eve, and Lexi are in the National Bank of West California giving their John Hancock to some bank-related stuff and Lexi starts bitching that Eve has authority to do so. Amanda snaps back that Eve is in this or she's not, and it was Eve's idea to get Hanson to play at the fundraiser. Suddenly, a band of men in Santa suits with automatics show up and start robbing the place. Everyone ducks to the floor and one of them robs Eve's ring. Then he asks Lexi, "Where's yours?" She says, "I'm not married. Don't rub it in, Kringle."
Visconti is driving the car full of Santas to the fund raiser and someone nicknames
it the Santa Pimp-Mobile, then as they're singing "Jingle Bells", a cop car pulls
them over, obviously thinking they are the bank robbers. They are forced to
spread 'em against the wire fence.
PETER: Are we jolly now, Michael?
MICHAEL: Ho, ho, ho.
The Santa quintet are being booked and photographed into the station and Peter is jailed with a cross-dresser. Next, they are called in to do a lineup and customers from the bank are asked to ID them and they reply that it would be easier if the Santas would pull off their beards. They do as they are told. Amanda, Eve, and Lexi are coincidentally there and Amanda IDs everyone and tells the police that they were dressed as Santas for a charity fund raiser and couldn't have been anywhere near the bank. Everyone is freed.
It's night at the complex now and Kyle returns home to find Amanda and she is
delighted that this will be their first Christmas together, but their last
Christmas alone because hopefully, the baby's on its way, and
AMANDA: I've lived a wild life, but I've never made love to Santa Claus before.
Then the two of them make love on the couch.
Ryan looks in Megan's window, scaring her, and then he comes in and says,
"It's only me" and apologizes for being late, explaining the robbery story. Megan
says she's got a Christmas tree and she's ready. Ryan agrees.
MEGAN: We're not talking about Christmas trees anymore, are we?
RYAN: What Christmas tree?
Then they start going at it.
Jane is painting a clay plate of the Melrose apartments when Michael starts speaking
through the window telling the robbery story. Michael apologizes for the real
estate agent and Jane tells him about her bad date. Michael starts saying that
this is sign and somebody is trying to tell us something. Jane refutes this with
the fact that the court date is tomorrow and the only thing that scares her is
spending the rest of her life with him.
JANE: Look at it this way, Santa. You've still got the elves.
Eve is sitting at the desk of her and Peter's apartment mourning the loss of her wedding ring. Peter says he'll get her a better one and comments on how beautiful the decorations are and how he never really got into this holiday spirit kind of thing so he made it a policy to always sign up for the holiday shifts at the hospital. There's a knock at the door and Peter excuses himself to put a robe on. Eve answers the door and Travis Hill is standing there with a Christmas tree. Eve tells Travis that Peter can't know about her stay in prison, when Peter appears and Travis says that he was so grateful for the business that he's giving them this Christmas tree as a thank you gift. Travis leaves and Peter tells Eve what a thoughtful gesture he thinks that was, then senses something is wrong with Eve. She says she's OK and Peter says he's looking forward to a great Christmas.
Michael is following his lawyer into the courtroom asking, "What if I don't show up?" He says that Jane gets everything and asks if Michael is having cold feet. While they're having this conversation, the police walk by escorting the real Santa suit robbers into court.
Jane and her lawyer are waiting for Michael and the judge orders them to make
it quick because I've got a flight to Aspen. Jane's lawyer suggests postponing
this until after Christmas and the judge warns her not to shout out another outburst
because he's not in the mood to hear this before Christmas and fines her $500 for
this and asks her if she wants to go for $1,000. The judge orders the two of
them to play Jeopardy! and gives Michael and Jane ten seconds to write down
why they married again on a piece of paper. They do so and the judge notices that
they wrote down the same answer, "What Is Love?". He orders Michael and Jane to
approach each other and talk things out.
JANE: He approaches with all the suttletry of a rhinoceros.
The judge is angered by Jane's remark and orders the couple to spend the holidays
together, Christmas through New Years doing charity work like distributing toys and such.
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"Next time I'm going grocery shopping before the orgy." --Megan Lewis' hunger kicks in during her and Ryan's lovemaking fest "He approaches with all the suttlety of a rhinoceros." --Jane Mancini referring to Michael trying to work things out "You know what, Michael? You're like chocolate. Horrible for me, but irresistable." --Jane Mancini, making up with Michael on Christmas "You know honey, the thing about hitting a nerve is -- it may sting a little doing it, but knowing I hit just the right nerve, it makes it all worth it." --Lexi Sterling, threatening Eve after the catfight
Peter sees through an obvious scam:
BEST SCENES: |
Eve returns to the site of the Christmas trees and confronts Travis. She asks him how much money he wants to keep her secret. Travis says that he's not interested in money, but instead a "roll in the hay" with her to satisfy all the sexual fantasies he had about her when she was in prison. Lexi shows up with Travis' check and breaks up this conversation. Eve tells Lexi she'll meet her at the hospital. Lexi tells Travis to stay away from Eve because she's out of his league. Travis replies, "I'm not so sure about that."
Amanda is giving out Christmas bonuses at AWA and gives one to Guy. Ryan, who is still going at it with Megan, calls Amanda and tells her he's sick and can't make the party. Amanda just tells him to get better. She sees Kyle drinking heavily and gets on to him for it before the two are interrupted by Eve. She pulls Kyle and Amanda in the meeting room and tells them what has been happening with Travis. Kyle tells her that he'll handle everything.
Kyle drives over to the Christmas tree lot drinking a bottle of whiskey. He starts beating up Travis and orders him to stay away from Eve.
Amanda awakens the next morning, having fallen asleep on the couch and calls out Kyle's name. She goes to the bedroom and finds him asleep, fully clothed, with whiskey in his pocket. Kyle gets up and gets ready for work.
Jane and Michael are out in the middle of nowhere wearing a couple of elf hats and giving out toys to needy children from the back of a truck. A child asks Michael if he has anything special to give his mother. Michael tells him that the only thing on the truck is toys but gives the child $20 to buy his mom something special. The kid hugs Michael and takes off. Jane tells him, "You surprise me sometimes." Michael then asks Jane if she would consider forgiving him for the wedding fiasco, and the falling through the roof thing. Jane forgives him and they hug.
Travis is taking off and moving his tree lot somewhere else. Lexi stops him and inquires why he's leaving because she needs some more tree needles to make a wreath. She looks as Travis' bruise and comments that he looks as if Santa's sled fell on his head. Travis tells her to ask Eve about it. Lexi asks him if there's any secrets in Eve's past. Travis says, "Lady, you haven't even scratched the surface."
Kyle is in Peter's office at Burns-Mancini regretting the way he lost control with Travis. Peter tells him to give up the drinking and the solution is to tell Amanda about him being sterile. Peter writes him out a prescription for antidepressants and makes him promise to tell Amanda after the holidays. Kyle agrees and takes the prescription, then leaves to help Amanda out on a charity gig. Kyle leaves Peter's office and we see him scrunch the prescription.
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Michael's lawyer was played by Joe O'Connor, the actor who played the dumb dad in Nickelodeon's Clarissa Explains It All. If you look closely in the scene of Kyle (Rob Estes) in the bathroom, you can see the Josie tattoo on his back. Lexi, Amanda, and Eve are banking at the National Bank of the West. There are signs that say "No Prisoners to Be Unattended" and "Attention Visitors..." in the police station. While Michael is standing in line to use the phone, you can see the other side of the door says "West Hollywood Divison," and he standing behind two Salvation Army collectors and a hooker. Notice that the police officer had to say "the other right" when Kyle was having his mug shot taken. It looked like Ryan and/or Peter were the tallest from the police lineup. Notice that when the women are carrying off the Santas, no one is there to hug Michael or Visconti. Very effective symbolism for the plot of this episode and later ones. Michael and Jane are being tried in the L.A. County Courthouse. If you look very closely in the scene with Lexi bringing the groceries to Megan and Ryan, she is wearing a ring on her finger, despite the fact that she told the robber she had none. The name of Travis Hill's Christmas tree business is "Frosty's Christmas Tree Lot." In the scene with Kyle punching Travis, he first smashes him against the soldier on the trailer. Maybe this is symbolic that he was in the marines? Or maybe not. While Jane and Michael are giving out toys, Jane gives a kid a toy lawn mower and Michael gives the kid with the jobless mom a gun, maybe a Super Soaker. The sign outside Upstairs says that Hanson is "presented by The Children's Foundation." There's a label that says, "Handle with care" on Michael's package to Jane.
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Eve and Lexi start punching each other, then fall on the desk in a major catfight until Kyle breaks it up. Lexi says to Eve, "You know honey, the thing about hitting a nerve is -- it may sting a little doing it, but knowing I hit just the right nerve, it makes it all worth it."
Amanda and Peter are turning on the Christmas lights back at Melrose Place while waiting for their spouses to come home. Amanda says, "What were we thinking? Marrying a couple of night owls?" She asks Peter what's with Kyle lately and he tells her that Kyle is just probably stressed out about the holidays and the two of them need a vacation. She dismisses this idea and believes Peter is hiding something more and demands to know. Peter stops this by kissing her under the mistletoe.
Amanda is awake on Christmas morning and comes out of the bathroom to find Kyle bringing her a cup of orange juice in bed. She is disappointed because her pregnancy test came out negative, and she was looking forward to giving him the ultimate gift this year. Kyle says he still wants to give a baby to her. "If only you knew how much."
Jane receives a huge package at her door and as she is opening it up, Michael pops out.
He tells her that he believes that since they are getting along so well now, that there's
hope for the future.
JANE: Michael, you're like chocolate -- horrible for me but irresistable.
MICHAEL: Well, what are you waiting for? You better start licking before I start to melt.
At the Wilshire Memorial Christmas party, Nurse Amy, along with Peter and everyone else are singing. Lexi shows up and demands that Peter give her something for her black eye. Peter escorts her out as she is babbling that stuff that Travis knows something about Eve's past and he should ask her.
Megan and Ryan are still cuddling up that night and Ryan observes that they haven't left the apartment for five days and that this feels just like a relationship. There is a knock on the door and Ryan excuses himself to get dressed. Megan opens it and Lexi barges in with bags full of food for Christmas dinner and a French chef named Pierre. Ryan appears and Lexi sees that Megan has company so she escorts Pierre out, leaving the food and saying that this was a huge, huge mistake. Megan is delighted though that she and Ryan now have food.
Amanda and Eve are finishing hanging some ornaments on the Christmas tree in her
apartment and she sees Eve's new ring and compliments on how beautiful it is.
Peter arrives and Amanda starts pouring drinks for everyone. He asks Kyle why he
beat up Travis and he says that Travis was coming on to Eve and she didn't know
how to tell him. He beat up Travis as a favor to a friend. As "Aud Lang Syne"
starts playing in the background, Amanda makes a toast to the incredible year
everyone has had. She poses with Kyle and Eve and asks
Peter to take their
picture. He is struggling with the camera.
EVE: C'mon, take the picture. We can't keep up these phony smiles forever.
PETER: Well, you're all pretty good at it. You sure fooled me.
